


i could walk through a field of flames to protect your soul (the breeze of love is like the wind at the sea)

by sammyspreadyourwings



Series: Rock Around the October (Rocktober 2020) [5]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fallen Angel, Drowning, Early Queen (Band), Fallen Angels, M/M, No Character Death, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:49:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26860120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammyspreadyourwings/pseuds/sammyspreadyourwings
Summary: John might not be a guardian angel, he isn't an angel anymore, but that doesn't stop him from protecting his humans.
Relationships: John Deacon/Brian May/Freddie Mercury/Roger Taylor
Series: Rock Around the October (Rocktober 2020) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952968
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	i could walk through a field of flames to protect your soul (the breeze of love is like the wind at the sea)

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Delayed Drowning 
> 
> More fallen Angel John because I kind of love this au a lot more than I thought. Maybe one day It'll have a plot.

John is lounging on the beach, Brian splashing around in the water – Freddie and Roger had gotten too handsy and stumbled off to get off and since getting Brian out of the water is a task and a half, so John promised to wait around with him. He looks around when he doesn’t see the curly-headed man.

When the silence gets more noticeable, John pushes himself up from his elbows to his hands, and finally, he sees Brian’s hand pop up out of the water. He lets out a breath, but he pushes himself to his feet staring out. There is a second, he thinks about stretching out his wings – before remembering and then he steps towards the water.

Not that he has swum before, but he knows how to, and he crosses out from the shallow waters, where his feet sink into the sand to where Brian had been splashing around. John dives under the water and looks around where he sees Brian thrashing against an invisible force, his eyes wide. Ah, John thinks, it’s a riptide.

John swims over quickly and wraps an arm around him. He feels the current pull at his body. Swimming diagonally, with Brian kicking at the water to help they break away from the pull of the water and get to the surface.

He blinks his eyes free of water, but Brian’s fingers are digging into his shoulders and he is gasping for air – before he breaks into a coughing fit. John guides them back to the shore, a little annoyed at how difficult it is to maneuver with Brian’s heavy and unhelpful weight.

The sand sticks to his skin, coating it. John runs his hands down his arms, the grains scrape against his arm and he wrinkles his nose. Humans like the weirdest things – sand is uncomfortable and annoying and yet the most expensive places to live are the beach. Brian is holding himself up, his arms shaking but his breathing is starting to slow down. John tilts his head, the breathing sounds very wet.

“Okay?” John asks.

Brian nods, “yeah. Got caught in it, didn’t notice. Thanks.”

John rubs his hands on his swim trunks, but it feels like more sand is sticking to the palm of his hands.

“Didn’t realize you were that good of a swimmer.”  
He wonders if he had made a mistake again in keeping his Not-A-Human status a secret, but it seemed like Brian had been in trouble and John won’t let him die. John shakes his head.

“Adrenaline,” John says, “I thought you were drowning.”

Brian coughs, “well, I probably could have gotten out of it, but thank you.”

“Could you have?”

“Probably, if I could calm down enough.”

John doubts it but he doesn’t want Brian panicking about it. Pointing out how dangerous something is has gotten him yelled at before – granted it had been Roger nearly getting struck by a car – but humans don’t like being reminded of their mortality. They’re weird. He wrinkles his nose.

Brian starts coughing again and grabbing at his chest. John turns towards him, patting his back. He looks around, they’re the only two on the beach, they had found this place by accident but enough begging from Brian had convinced them to use their day off from the tour to do nothing but get sunburnt. Poor Roger had the top of his shoulders turn to a bright red.

John looks back at Brian, he is still coughing, and it is sounding worse and worse, alternating with gasps. He watches with strange detachment before focusing on the skin below his hand. The electric charges that run between muscle and bone feel fine but he goes deeper and feels the lungs. They’re heavy with water.

While he doesn’t have the same power as he did before he Fell, but John had never needed to use much of his power. He learned how to manipulate it and using gentle pressure he pushes the water out of Brian’s lungs. The coughing turns to near vomiting. John keeps pushing until the lungs feel as they should.

Brian pushes himself against John, his chest heaving, and the exhaustion is clear on his face. John kisses his neck.

“What did you do?” Brian says after a few moments.

“What?”

He sees the exhausted hazel, “you did something.”

John hums, “I don’t know what you mean.”

Brian squints, “it felt like something was pushing the water out.”

“Your lungs,” John says, “we should go back to the hotel. Just in case things get worse.”

“It felt like something else pushing it out, like a hand.”

He shrugs, “you were trying to cough your lung up.”

John rubs down the side of his chest, searching for anything more that could harm Brian. There is a strange heat near his liver, but it doesn’t seem to be dangerous. He kisses Brian’s temple, huffing the salt-water smell out of his nose.

“I suppose,” Brian yawns and blinking the tears that spring up, “I am tired though.”

He can’t claim that he is a guardian angel, the furthest thing from it, but John will protect his humans.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, leave your thoughts and comments below or come talk to me on tumblr.


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